This invention relates generally to arrowheads, and more particularly to arrowheads having a pivotal blade selectively positionable in a plurality of different open penetrating configurations so as to be enabled to define a plurality of corresponding different cutting diameters thereof.
Arrows have long been used for war, hunting and competitive sports. A conventional arrow has a shaft, a nock at one end that receives the bow string, an arrowhead or point that attaches to the opposite end, and fletchings. The fletchings are glued to the shaft near the nock end, and help to stabilize the arrow in flight by causing it to rotate. Arrowheads generally have a pointed forward end, and an opposite threaded shaft end that attaches the arrowhead to the arrow shaft. Arrowheads are also attached to the forward end of arrow shafts by glueing and other methods.
Arrowheads come in a variety of different sizes and configurations depending on their intended use. For example, there are specifically designed arrowheads for competitive target shooting, shooting fish, hunting birds or small game animals, and for hunting big game animals.
Arrowheads used for hunting kill the game animal by cutting vital organs such as the lungs and vascular vessels such as arteries, which causes rapid hemorrhaging and/or suffocation. Quick and humane kills are dependent on accurate shot placement, and upon the amount or volume of the animal tissue that is cut. Hunting arrowheads that cut more tissue are more lethal, and therefore are better. The volume of tissue that is cut is determined by the cutting diameter of the arrowhead, the number of blades it contains, and by the distance the arrowhead penetrates into the animal. The cutting diameter of an arrowhead is determined by how far each cutting blade extends outward from the arrowhead body. The further the blades extend outward the larger the cutting diameter is, and therefore the more cutting potential the arrowhead has.
A common type of arrowhead used in hunting is the fixed-blade arrowhead, which has a pointed tip end used for penetrating, and generally triangular shaped fixed-blades or non-pivotal blades that each have a razor sharp edge for cutting. Conventional fixed-blade arrowheads blades are held in a fixed position on the arrowhead, and most such blades are replaceable. The replaceable blades attach to the arrowhead body in longitudinal grooves called blade slots. The tip of the arrowhead may be separably attachable to the arrowhead body or may be integral with it. Arrowheads for hunting are generally known as broadheads.
Another popular type of arrowhead for hunting is the blade-opening arrowhead. Blade-opening arrowheads are generally known as mechanical broadheads. Blade-opening arrowheads, like conventional fixed-blade arrowheads generally have an elongate arrowhead body, a tip end, and a threaded opposite end. The blades of blade-opening arrowheads have an attachment end which attaches the blades to the arrowhead body by a pivot pin, so that the blades can pivot or rotate between a closed position and an open position. Blade-opening arrowhead blades are generally an elongate substantially rectangular shape and also have a free non-attached end situated opposite the attachment end. The blades of blade-opening arrowheads are also received in blade slots, which are machined or formed into the side of the arrowhead body. The pivotal blades of blade-opening arrowheads are held in the closed position while in-flight until the arrowhead penetrates a game animal or target by various different methods including: conventional rubber O-rings, rubber bands, tight fitting plastic sleeves, tape, heat-shrinkable sleeves, and other wrap materials as well as by magnetism, various spring systems, friction detents and other frictional mechanisms. When the pivotal blades of blade-opening arrowheads are retracted or folded into the closed position, a substantial majority of each blade is generally housed within its corresponding blade slot. This feature gives blade-opening arrowheads the ability to attain significantly increased aerodynamic performance over fixed-blade arrowheads, due to the significantly decreased exposure the retracted blades have with the air when the arrow is rotating while in flight. Such increased aerodynamic performance results in the desirable features of: faster shooting arrows, flatter arrow trajectories, increased penetration energy and enhanced repeatability of accuracy, while also providing a wide diameter cut in the game animal when the razor sharp blades open at impact with the animal.
Blade-opening arrowheads come in a variety of different types and styles. The most common type of blade-opening arrowhead has blades that are pivotally connected to the arrowhead body at a location near the rear end of the arrowhead body. This makes it so that when the blades are folded into the retracted position a leading blade end of each blade positioned near the tip of the arrowhead protrudes outward from the arrowhead body. The leading blade ends of such blade-opening arrowheads rotate away from the arrowhead body in a rearward direction when penetrating an animal. Particularly, the leading blade ends catch on the animal""s surface and serve to lever or rotate the blades into the fully open position, thus exposing the sharp cutting edges of the blades to a fully open cutting diameter position and cutting the animal. Another type of blade-opening arrowhead has pivotal blades that rotate in a forward direction to the fully open position when penetrating an animal. The blades of these forward blade rotating blade-opening arrowheads are rotated toward the open position by a variety of different mechanisms, but all also define a fully open cutting diameter when in the open position.
Yet another type of arrowhead used for hunting has pivotal blades that are exposed at a full cutting diameter position while the arrowhead is in-flight. Such arrowheads also generally achieve better aerodynamic performance than fixed-blade arrowheads because by design each pivotal blade only attaches to a corresponding arrowhead body at a single location so that with their substantially elongate shaped blades such arrowheads have significantly decreased blade surface area exposure with the air while in-flight.
The optimal size of cutting diameter desirable in an arrowhead can vary depending on the type of animal being hunted and on the strength of the archers bow. Generally, wider cutting diameter arrowheads generate more friction when penetrating a target than do narrower cutting diameter arrowheads, and therefore wider cutting diameter arrowheads penetrate proportionally less depth. It is desirable for an arrowhead to penetrate as deep in the game animal as possible so as to maximize the volume of animal tissue that is cut, as well as to create both an entry hole and an exit hole on both sides of the animal for blood to drain therefrom so as to leave a more followable or noticeable blood trail. Accordingly, archers shooting less powerful bows (all other factors being equal) would need to use a narrower cutting diameter arrowhead to obtain equal penetration depth as that which more powerful bows would achieve with a wider cutting diameter arrowhead. Small game animals such as wild turkeys do not present as tough of a target or as thick of a target for arrowheads to penetrate through as do big game animalsxe2x80x94like elk or whitetail deer. Accordingly, archers shooting both big game animals and small game animals with the same cutting diameter arrowhead may have to use a stronger bow to obtain sufficient penetration when hunting big game animals. Alternatively, a narrower cutting diameter arrowhead would likely provide sufficient penetration in big game animals without requiring the archer to use a more powerful bow.
A major problem associated with conventional arrowheads such as blade-opening arrowheads and other pivotal blade arrowheads is that such arrowheads are only capable of producing one cutting diameter each when in a penetrating configuration or when in the open position. Such design prevents archers from being able to use a narrower cutting diameter or wider cutting diameter arrowhead for different appropriate hunting situations and/or bow set ups, without having to buy different arrowheads for each different cutting diameter desired.
It is apparent that there is a need for a pivotal blade arrowhead such as a blade-opening arrowhead that is capable of producing a variety of different cutting diameters so as to provide an arrowhead that has the flexibility of different penetration abilities, such as deeper penetrating narrower cutting diameters and increased tissue volume cutting wider cutting diameters, so as to better meet the needs of archers in the varying different hunting situations encountered in the field.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an arrowhead with a blade such that the arrowhead is capable of defining a plurality of different cutting diameters by the blade.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pivotally bladed arrowhead such that the arrowhead is capable of defining a plurality of different cutting diameters by the pivotal blade wherein each different cutting diameter is defined when the pivotal blade is in a fully open position.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a blade-opening arrowhead having a pivotal blade that rotates in reward direction when rotating from a closed or retracted position toward an open penetrating position, that is capable of defining a plurality of different cutting diameters with the pivotal blade when the pivotal blade is in corresponding different fully open penetrating positions or penetrating configurations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a blade-opening arrowhead having a pivotal blade that rotates in forward direction when rotating from a closed or retracted position toward an open penetrating position, that is capable of defining a plurality of different cutting diameters with the pivotal blade when the pivotal blade is in corresponding different fully open penetrating positions or penetrating configurations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an arrowhead having a first pivotal blade and another three-dimensionally different shaped second pivotal blade such that both the first and second pivotal blades are capable of defining a plurality of different cutting diameters each when in fully open penetrating configurations and when attached to the same arrowhead body.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an arrowhead having a pivotal blade such that the pivotal blade is positionable at a first angle with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead when the arrowhead is in a first penetrating configuration and at a second different angle with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead when the arrowhead is in a second penetrating configuration.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a plurality of different shaped blade-stop washers each having a different sloped blade abutting surface wherein each blade-stop washer is individually removably attachable to an arrowhead body having a pivotally mounted blade therewith, such that when each different sloped blade-stop washer is individually attached to the arrowhead body and the pivotal blade is in abutment thereagainst so as to be in a penetrating configuration the arrowhead defines correspondingly different cutting diameters.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an arrowhead with a pivotal blade such that when in a first open position or first penetrating configuration the pivotal blade abuts against a first different sloped or first different shaped blade abutting surface, and when in a second open position or second penetrating configuration the pivotal blade abuts against a second different sloped or second different shaped blade abutting surface.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide an arrowhead with a pivotal blade such that when in an open position or first penetrating configuration the specific section of a blade abutting surface the pivotal abuts against is displaced a first distance from the cross-sectional center of the pivotal blade""s hinge pin, and when the arrowhead is in an second different open position or second penetrating configuration the specific section of a blade abutting surface that the pivotal blade abuts against is displaced a second different distance from the cross-sectional center of the pivotal blade""s hinge pin.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide an arrowhead with a pivotal blade that is pivotally hinged to an arrowhead body by an annular hinge pin, wherein the annular hinge pin has a bump configured thereon that protrudes at least in a forward direction when the annular hinge pin is mounted to the arrowhead body in a first spatial orientation and that protrudes at least in a reward direction when the annular hinge pin is mounted to the arrowhead body in a second different spatial orientation.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an arrowhead with a pivotal blade that is pivotally hinged to an accompanying arrowhead body by a pivot pin such that the pivot pin and therefore the pivotal blade is capable of being positioned at a plurality of different spatial locations on the arrowhead body so as to enable the pivotal blade when correspondingly attached to the arrowhead body in the different locations thereof, to define a plurality of different cutting diameters when the blade is in correspondingly fully open or penetrating configurations.
It is still further another object of the present invention to provide a pivotally bladed arrowhead having a first pivot pin receiving through hole located a first distance from the forward leading end of the arrowhead and a second spaced apart pivot pin receiving through hole located a second different distance from the forward leading end of the arrowhead.
It is yet still further another object of the present invention to provide a pivotally bladed arrowhead having a first pivot pin receiving through hole located a first distance from the forward leading end of the arrowhead and a second spaced apart pivot pin receiving through hole located a second different distance from the forward leading end of the arrowhead, wherein both pivot pin through holes communicate with a single blade slot.
It is yet still further another object of the present invention to provide a pivotally bladed arrowhead having a first pivot pin receiving through hole located a first shortest distance from the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead and a second spaced apart pivot pin receiving through hole located a second different shortest distance from the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead.
It is even yet still further another object of the present invention to provide a pivotally bladed arrowhead having a first pivot pin receiving through hole located a first shortest distance from the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead and a second spaced apart pivot pin receiving through hole located a second different shortest distance from the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead, wherein both pivot pin through holes communicate with a single blade slot.
The foregoing objects and advantages and other objects and advantages of the present invention are accomplished as according to some of the preferred embodiments of this invention with arrowheads that attach to the forward end of an arrowshaft, where a plurality of same shaped blades are pivotally connected to an arrowhead body. Each three-dimensionally substantially same shaped blade is capable of defining more than one cutting diameter by being positioned in different spatial orientations relative to an accompanying arrowhead body when the arrowhead is in different corresponding penetrating configurations. The different penetrating configurations are generally determined when the blades are in corresponding fully open positions or such as they would be when the arrowhead is penetrating a target.
Such an arrowhead as according to some preferred embodiments of this invention is a blade-opening arrowhead having a plurality of same shaped blades pivotally hinged to an annular blade ring or an annular hinge pin that has a plurality of bumps formed thereon. The blade ring is slidably mounted within a recessed annular groove formed in the arrowhead body. Each blade seats on a corresponding bump when the blade ring and blades are attached to the arrowhead. When the blades are rotated to the open position such that the arrowhead is in a penetrating configuration each blade abuts against a blade abutting surface or against a blade-stop surface which positions the blade in a penetrating configuration so as to define a cutting diameter of the arrowhead. The blade ring is capable of being mounted to the arrowhead body within the annular groove in two different spatial orientations such that the bumps may all protrude in a forward direction (upward toward the forward leading end of the arrowhead) or such that the bumps may all protrude in a rearward direction (downward toward an accompanying arrowshaft). When the blade ring is mounted such to the arrowhead that the bumps protrude forwardly the arrowhead defines a different cutting diameter when in a penetrating configuration than the cutting diameter defined by the blades when the blade ring is mounted to the arrowhead such that the bumps protrude rearwardly and the arrowhead is also in a penetrating configuration. The different cutting diameters are produced in that the distance from the cross-sectional center of each hinge pin bump to the specific section of the blade abutting surface that the blade is in direct abutment with is different, when the bumps protrude forwardly versus when the bumps protrude rearwardly, and thus the blades are disposed at different angles relative to the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead when in the respective two different penetrating configurations or two different cutting diameters of the arrowhead.
Another arrowhead preferred embodiment as according to this invention is similar to the above described arrowhead preferred embodiment except that it utilizes both a first pivotal blade and a second different three-dimensionally shaped pivotal blade. The first pivotal blade is capable of defining a plurality of at least two different cutting diameters when in corresponding penetrating configurations and the second pivotal blade is capable of defining a plurality of at least two different cutting diameters when in corresponding penetrating configurations that are different from the cutting diameters defined by the first blade.
Other arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention differ from the above described preferred embodiments in that they have removably attachable tip blades mounted in corresponding arrowhead tips. The razor sharp tip blades enhance target penetration by cutting target material ahead of the pivotal blades or arrowhead main cutting blades.
Other arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention utilize a first annular blade ring with a plurality of bumps formed thereon that protrude inwardly toward the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead when defining at least a first different cutting diameter, and utilize a second annular blade ring with a plurality of bumps formed thereon that protrude outwardly away from the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead when defining at least a second different cutting diameter. The different cutting diameters are produced in that the distance from the cross-sectional center of each hinge pin bump to the blade abutting surface is different when the bumps protrude inward versus when the bumps protrude outward and thus the same shaped blades are disposed at different angles relative to the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead when in the respective two different penetrating configurations or two different cutting diameters of the arrowhead.
Yet other arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention utilizing annular hinge pins such as a blade ring have a plurality of bumps formed thereon where each bump protrudes not only in a forward or rearward direction but also in either an inward or outward direction, so as to be enabled to define yet a variety of other cutting diameters with the same blade or a plurality of same shaped blades.
Some arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention utilizing annular hinge pins such as a blade ring have corresponding blade rings and annular recessed grooves or equivalents configured such that the blade rings are compressed to a narrower diameter when mounted to corresponding arrowheads, whereas other arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention utilizing annular hinge pins such as a blade ring have corresponding blade rings and annular recessed grooves or equivalents configured such that the blade rings are expanded to a wider diameter when mounted to corresponding arrowheads.
Some arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention utilizing annular hinge pins such as a blade ring have corresponding blade rings and annular recessed grooves or equivalents configured such that the blade rings are neither substantially compressed nor expanded when mounted to corresponding arrowheads.
Some arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention utilizing annular hinge pins such as a blade ring have substantially bumpless blade rings or blade rings having a substantially constant sloped exterior surface like a circular ring made of round metal wire.
Other arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention are similar to the above described embodiments except such arrowheads utilize filler elements to displace corresponding blade rings at different distances from the forward leading end of corresponding arrowheads or for changing the spatial orientation of a blade ring relative to an accompanying arrowhead or arrowhead body. Each filler element is seated in a corresponding recessed annular groove or equivalent in front of a corresponding blade ring so as to displace the blade ring a distance rearward of the internal forward shelf of the annular groove. Contrastingly, when the filler elements are not used the blade ring will seat against the groove shelf and thus the blade ring will be displaced yet another different distance away from a reference point such as the forward leading end of the arrowhead or the blade abutting surface, and will enable the arrowhead to define a different cutting diameter with the same blade than that which is defined when using a particular size of filler element(s). As according to one such embodiment an arrowhead utilizes three pivotal blades and three same shaped filler elements such that each filler element is situated between two adjacent blades so as to allow ample space for the blades to freely rotate between the closed and open positions. Other such preferred embodiments utilize a plurality of different length or different shaped sets of filler elements so as to displace the hinge ring to yet different spatial orientations relative to the arrowhead, and accordingly to enable a single blade or a plurality of same shaped blades to define yet other cutting diameters, such as a plurality of at least three different cutting diameters.
Yet still other arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention utilize substantially straight hinge pins such as set screws, like fully threaded set screws and/or partially threaded set screws to hingedly connect the pivotal cutting blades to corresponding arrowhead bodies. Such arrowhead preferred embodiments each have a hinge pin through hole formed in accompanying arrowhead bodies to receive corresponding straight hinge pins. Some such hinge pins receive only one blade whereas other such hinge pins receive more than one blade. According to some such preferred embodiments at least one hinge pin through hole is located closer to the forward leading end of an accompanying arrowhead than at least one other hinge pin through hole of the same arrowhead. According to other such preferred embodiments at least one hinge pin through hole is located closer to the central longitudinal axis of an accompanying arrowhead than at least one other hinge pin through hole of the same arrowhead. According to yet other such preferred embodiments at least one hinge pin through hole is located both a different distance from the central longitudinal axis and from the forward leading end (or an equivalent reference point) of an accompanying arrowhead than is at least one other hinge pin through hole of the same arrowhead. Some such arrowhead preferred embodiments have a hinge pin through hole configured such upon corresponding arrowhead bodies that each hinge pin through hole intersects with the central longitudinal axis of the arrowhead, whereas other such arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention do not. Some such arrowhead preferred embodiments have a plurality of hinge pin through holes extending through or communicating with at least a single blade slot.
Yet still further other arrowhead preferred embodiments as according to this invention are configured such that when in a first open position or a first penetrating configuration so as to be defining a first cutting diameter a pivotal blade abuts against a first sloped blade abutting surface, and when in a second open position or second penetrating configuration so as to be defining a second different cutting diameter the same pivotal blade (or another same shaped pivotal blade) abuts against a second different sloped or different shaped blade abutting surface, thus defining a plurality of different cutting diameters so as to be an improvement over the prior art. Some such preferred embodiments utilize a plurality of different shaped removably attachable blade-stop washers that each have a different sloped blade abutting surface.
The arrowheads as according to the desired results and scope of this invention are more lethal than prior art conventional arrowheads in that they provide the ability to produce more than one cutting diameter with the use of a single blade, or with a plurality of same shaped blades. Such cutting diameter flexibility provides a single arrowhead that is capable of obtaining deeper penetration with narrower cutting diameters as well as increased tissue volume cutting with wider cutting diameters, so as to better meet the needs of archers in the varying different hunting situations encountered in the field such that both penetration and lethality are maximized as the conditions encountered merit.
As has been shown in the above discussion, the arrowheads according to this invention overcome deficiencies inherent in prior art arrowheads.
With the above objects and advantages in view, other objects and advantages of the invention will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention is comprised in the novel construction, combination and assembly of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.